Emily N. Wismer

 
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About

The first time I saw a letterpress shop, I knew I was doomed. Luckily for me, a fascination that began when I was 19 has turned into a career as a printer.

I love working on machines that have their own histories that I feel only add to what I can do with them. I love the smell of the ink and the feel of working with type or polymer and the tactile process and result of feeding paper into a press. Itʼs a medium that is slow, outmoded, exasperating, and also completely compelling and reborn in new methods and collaborations. I see myself as someone who is constantly being taught by the presses as well as other printers and artists what the medium is capable of, and I love the idea that this is an unending learning process.

Iʼm inspired by a vast array of things- poster art of the 1920s, Joseph Cornell, fireworks, mosaic tile, photographs found in thrift stores, and always by many peers working on presses around the world.


I became fascinated with letterpress at 19, when I found some type in an old barn during a road trip. After many years and various careers, I found a shop where I could pursue my passion through an apprenticeship. Eventually, I bought that shop and now I get to combine my sometimes inappropriate sense of humor with a beautiful art form, for fun and occasional profit! “

READ AN INTERVIEW WITH EMILY HERE